Once Upon A Time
by Ares' Warrior Babe
Summary: Pre-series. Molly/Rick. How it all began.


_**A/N: I love Molly and Rick, which you guys know if you've read my other So Weird stories. I'm a sucker for them. The idea of their relationship and the fact that he was ripped away from her just stirs something in me. So, this is a pre-series story focusing on them. Enjoy.**_

-x-

_March 29, 1978_

_Eugene, Oregon_

They were screwed.

John had booked this gig, their first real gig in two months, to help bring more attention to the charity auction that was going on that night and their other guitarist was a no show. And they were on in less than an hour and a half.

They were _so_ screwed.

"We need another guitarist," John stated, his hands running through his messy hair. "Is there any other band here willing to give us one of theirs?" Rick shook his head in response. "Bollocks!"

"We're the Phillips-Kane Band, they're expecting us to be a supplier to them. Look, go for a smoke and relax, I'll find us someone." John followed the other man's line of sight and grinned.

"I said a guitarist, not a girlfriend."

Rick narrowed his eyes at his friend. "That's not what this is about, yes she's pretty, but I heard her earlier, she's really good at playing. And singing," he added as an afterthought.

John clapped him on the back and shook his head. "Whatever you say, my man, just go ask her if she'll sit in." Rick nodded and started towards her. "Oh, and Ricky, I get to be the best man at your wedding, eh?" He laughed as the other man flipped him off and walked out the back door.

-x-

"Excuse me?" He was nervous, moreso than what he should be. He'd talked to girls before, and was usually quite smooth when it came to them, but she was different. There was something about her that made him get butterflies in his stomach and forget how to breathe. Rick swore time stopped when her eyes met his. They were the colour of chocolate, deep and rich, soft and warm, yet they seemed to be hiding something. He was immediately entranced with her. The girl's eyes widened and she shook her head, waiting. Rick realized he totally missed what she had said. "I'm sorry," he said with a small laugh. "Guess I'm a little too amped for the show. Anyway, our other guitarist didn't show up and I heard you playing earlier, brilliantly, by the way, and wondered if you would possibly sit in with out session?"

She blushed at the compliment. "Um, sure, why not. When do you guys go on?"

Rick checked his watch. "Oh, in about an hour." He grinned at her, almost like a challenge. She nodded and took a deep breath. Rick placed a hand on the small of her back and led her backstage. "We should probably learn each other's names if we're going to be playing with one another."

The young woman smiled at him. "Molly, Molly McQuinn. And you are?"

"Rick Phillips."

"Phillips?" Molly's eyes widened. "As in the Phillips-Kane Band?"

He grinned at her as John made his way back inside. "The very same!" John threw an arm around Molly's shoulders. "So, you're sitting in with us, yeah?" She nodded. "Brilliant! Well, best teach you the chords."

-x-

"Thank you so much, Eugene! You guys were terrific! Because of your generosity, we've raised thirty thousand dollars to restore the church on Cyrus Avenue!" The crowd cheered as John spoke. "I also want to give a special thank you to Molly McQuinn for helping us out in our time of need." He turned and motioned for her to stand next to him. "Thank you, love, we wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

Molly smiled and took a bow while John and Rick clapped. As she straightened she felt a hand on her back. "Do you want to go on a walk?" the voice whispered in her ear. She shivered as her eyes met his.

"Okay," she replied softly.

-x-

They walked down the dimly lit street, their fingers laced together. "When did you get into music?" Rick asked, his voice the only sound in the night. "I mean, I saw the article from when you won that song contest. What were you? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

Molly laughed and looked at the ground for a moment before answering. "I was fifteen when I won, but my dad taught me to play piano when I was three. I always liked music. It kind of felt like it was the only thing I could count on."

Rick nodded in understanding. "I get that," he whispered. "Some days it feels like there's nothing in the world that can understand what you're feeling or what you've been through and then you hear a song and everything makes sense again."

"Yeah, like that," she breathed. "It's the one constant in a world of chaos."

They were quiet as they walked, their eyes on their shadows who were linked together. "What did you write 'Midnight Passage' about?"

Molly stopped in front of a small cottage, the porch light shining like a beakon for lost travelers. She bit her lip before answering. "I wanted to disappear. My dad and I were constantly fighting and it just seemed like if I were gone nobody would miss me. People have left me before without a second thought, I just thought I'd save them the trouble of leaving if I left first. And it just seemed fitting to leave under the cover of darkness." Molly finally looked at him. "You think I'm a basket case, don't you? That I should be committed somewhere?"

He squeezed her hand and pulled her closer. "No," he whispered softly. "I think you're completely incredible."

"Oh." It was quiet as she breathed out, his hand coming up to cradle her face. Eyes closed as lips hesitantly brushed against one another. It was soft, the slightest of touches, yet perfect in Molly's mind. They stood together in darkness, their breaths mingling with one another as they kissed. She barely knew him, yet she felt so safe and content with him. Everything in that moment was right. "Do you want to come in?" She finally questioned, knowing that if she didn't attempt to move out of the street then, she never would.

Rick nodded. "I'd like that."

-x-

He watched her from the window seat as he tried to think of questions to ask her. They'd talked about so many things already that he'd forgotten what he'd asked. Finally he smiled. "So, Molly, where were you born?"

She laughed. "That's the best question you can come up with? I expected more from you."

Rick rolled his eyes and laughed with her. "I can always ask you something else..."

"I'll answer it. I was born in Ireland and moved to the states when I was seven. My dad managed to find a factory job over here, but we still struggled at times."

"You don't speak with an accent," Rick pointed out.

Molly shook her head. "You learn to lose it quick when the other kids make fun of you for 'speaking funny'."

He winced in sympathy. "Sorry."

She shifted her position on the bed to sit with her legs crossed. "It's okay. Now what about you, Mystery Man? What's your story."

"Isn't that the point of being a mystery man? To stay mysterious?" He grinned.

"Okay, that is so not far! You know a lot about me and I don't even get a teensy detail about you? Please?" She began pouting. "Please? Just one thing?"

Rick covered his eyes with his hands. "No puppy dog eyes! They're my weakness!"

She laughed at him, loving that he was so playful. "I'll have to remember that for future reference! Now spill!"

"Manipulator," he teased. "Okay, I was born in Albuquerque on February 8th. I have a twin sister, Rachael, and a younger sister, Melinda. I taught myself how to play guitar when I was eleven and piano at thirteen. I've wanted to be a musician since I was six and I am terrified of clowns."

"Clowns? That's your big fear?"

"They're creepy!"

"They are not creepy, they're funny."

"Well they terrify me! With their weird, painted faces and gigantic shoes!"

She giggled. "Okay, so they're _scary_."

He pouted. "Don't mock."

"It's too easy to mock anyway." She smiled at him. "Got any hobbies?"

Rick was silent, an internal battle raging within him. Dare he say anything about the things he's seen and read about? Tell her about the countless hours he's spent researching Roswell and crop circles, telepathy and ghosts? Explain to her that he has hundreds of papers filled with facts and stories and myths about creatures people only believe to exist in fariytales?

He liked her, that much he knew. And to keep something that was this big, that was a part of who he was, a secret from someone who could be more than just a passing person in his life seemed wrong. "I sort of have this thing where I research things...paranormal things." He waited for her reaction, waited for her to call him crazy for believing in those things, just like everyone else had.

"Paranormal? Like ghosts and vampires and stuff?"

Rick blinked in surprise. Could it be she was _actually_ interested in this too? "Uh, yeah, Yeah! Exactly like that. Well, not so much vampires as ghosts, haven't really come across any of that yet, but the other stuff, yeah. You don't think I'm crazy?"

Molly shook her head. "No! Actually, I find that stuff really fascinating. When I was little, my grandmother would always tell me stories about the beings that lived in Ireland. I remember the one time she told me a story about a banshee that follows our family to fortell death. It scared me so badly that I had nightmares for weeks."

He looked confused. "Banshee? I don't think I've read about those."

"It's a spirit of a woman whose cry is supposed to be an omen of death."

"Oh, well she sounds lovely," Rick retorted sarcastically. Molly laughed.

"Have you ever read anything on visions or feelings or anything?" She leaned closer to him, almost as if she were looking for an answer to a question that wasn't asked.

He shook his head. "No, not really. I was always on the fence about psychics. The majority of them are only out there to make money and are as vague as possible when giving a reading. Why do you ask?"

She shook her head. "No reason, just curiosity..."

-x-

It was nearing five thirty in the morning when their conversations grew deeper, more serious. They were curled up together in the small bed, legs entwined as they spoke softly to one another. "My best friend moved away about five years ago. She didn't tell me she was leaving, just sort of disappeared. There one day and gone the next."

"I'm sorry." The whispered words enveloped her tightly as she continued on with the story of Rebecca.

"She was the best, like a light in the dark. Things weren't that great at home and when she came around...everything became better. And then one day she went away and the darkness came back and I felt so alone." Molly took a deep breath to keep herself from crying, the pain from Rebecca's absence bubbling up to the surface once more. "I wondered if it was me, like I was defective or something and that's why she left. She just made it seem...so easy to walk away from me, like I didn't mean anything to her at all."

Rick brushed a lock of her hair away from her eyes, the motion turning into a soft caress. "I don't see how anybody could ever leave you. There is certainly nothing wrong with you. You're kind and caring and beautiful."

She smiled at him. "Yeah, but you're biased."

He grinned back. "So what, it's still true. Molly, don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not enough. And don't let anyone make you feel like you're not enough, because you are, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back as dawn's pink light began creeping through the room. Molly curled closer to him, content to listen to his heart beat as they laid together in silence. She knew without a doubt in her mind that he was it for her, that he was her soul mate, the one who completed her. And with that thought warming her, she fell asleep in his arms.

Rick watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept. It was the most vulnerable position she could be in; showing how soft her features were in the pale light. He smiled down at her, happy to know she felt safe enough to sleep with him there.

_'That was one hell of a first date,'_ he thought to himself as he drifted off.


End file.
